FRUIT COOKIES

These Fruit Cookies are a favorite of Friend Janice. When her neighborhood was having their Christmas gathering, she didn't hesitate to bake them to share. My mother had a Fruitcake Cookie she always made around Christmas. When Janice first mentioned to me that she was going to make her Fruit Cookies, I thought about mother's cookies. But then she mentioned they had orange slices in them.  I knew they would be different from my mother's. This recipe does say you can use candied fruit but Janice does use the orange slices that she cuts up with scissors. It's messy, she says, but worth it in the cookies. 

FRUIT COOKIES

1         cup brown sugar
1         cup white sugar
2        cups flour
1/2     teaspoon salt
1         teaspoon baking soda
1         teaspoon baking powder
1         cup shortening (can use 1/2 cup margarine and 1/2 cup shortening)
1         teaspoon vanilla
2        eggs
2        cups quick oats
1/2     cup coconut
1/2     cup slivered almonds
1/2     cup pecan
1        cup light raisins(golden)
1-1/2  cups cut up orange slices or candied fruit or orange peel

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the sugars, flour, soda, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.

Add the shortening, vanilla, and eggs. Mix on low til combined.

Add oats, nuts, and fruit.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes.

Janice says she has baked them at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. She has also used old fashioned oats. She likes to cut up the orange slices the night before because she uses scissors and it takes a while. She has also omitted the raisins.